Sukabumi to Apply Rp500,000 Fines for Smoking in Public Minivans
29 May 2016 18:34 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sukabumi Regency Administration in West Java will be enforcing a Rp500,000 fine on any person who is caught smoking inside its public minivans, or angkot. "This fine is in accordance to Regency Regulation (Perbup) No. 26 of 2011 on Smoke-free Zones, as well as Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 10 of 2016 on Public Order," said the Chief for Public Order for Sukabumi Regency's Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), Iwan SS, in Sukabumi on Sunday, May 29, 2016.
According to Iwan, the regulation has been socialised by the Sukabumi Regency's Administration by sticking warning stickers on all public minivans which routes cross the region - so there is no reason for passengers to be afraid to complain when another passenger insists on smoking a cigarette in the Regency's public minibuses.
Furthermore, the fine is aimed to affirm Sukabumi Regency's commitment to create a healthier environment for all its' residents by establishing smoke-free zones, which has also included government offices, as well as regional agencies across the region.
That said, the fines are not meant to encroach on an individual's right to smoke - instead, it is aimed to preserve the right of non-smokers to breathe clean air, by forcing smokers to smoke in designated smoking areas. "We will not hesitate to fine anyone - irregardless of age, status or position in the government," said Iwan. "We need to be more respectful of each other, this is what the fine aims to enforce."
So far, continued Iwan, Satpol PP aims to place warning stickers on 1,200 Sukabumi's public minibuses, and said that Satpol PP calls on passengers to respect the regulation if they do not wish to be fined.
A resident of Sukabumi Regency's Cibadak District, Isep Sulaeman, welcomes the regulation, as he frequently feels bothered by smokers who insist on smoking in enclosed public areas - especially in public minibuses. "Satpol PP needs to seriously enforce the fines, because a mere warning won't deter people from smoking where they shouldn't be smoking," he said.
ANTARA
